


Natural Tendencies

by youllstaywithme



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I just end up missing jily in the early hours of the morning, Not Beta Read, idk what this is man, lmao I hope this entices you, nothing is ever beta read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-25 05:28:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20371456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youllstaywithme/pseuds/youllstaywithme
Summary: “What makes this book special?”“Err... nothing, really. Maybe that’s why I like it so much.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!

“Why do you read that book if you know how it ends?”  
  
Lily’s head snapped up. She felt a quip rise to the surface, but hesitated when she saw the look on his face. Curious.  
  
“Well,” she considered, “I like watching them fall in love. I pick up on more details each time around.”  
  
“Don’t they kick the bucket at the end though?”  
  
She raised a brow, “So?”  
  
He knelt down, resting his elbows on the arm of her chair, so they were eye level. She felt her breathing catch a little at his closeness. “So, doesn’t that make reading the damn thing a little grim? Watching them die over and over again?”  
  
She considered it.  
  
“Not really. Well, a little. When I’m reading the first half, I pretend it doesn’t end that way. Makes it a little less painful.”  
  
James smiled at this.  
  
“What makes this book special?”  
  
“Err... nothing, really. Maybe that’s why I like it so much.”  
  
She spared a fleeting thought for her sister, of all people, but forcefully buried it as quickly as it arrived.  
  
“Do you read much?” she asked him.  
  
“Mostly academic, and for special projects. Also fairy tales; helps Sirius get to sleep at night.”  
  
She laughed, “that weirdly makes sense.”  
  
“The fairy tales, or my reading habits?”  
  
Her smile was genuine.  
  
“Both.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take note that this takes place BEFORE the previous conversation. Enjoy, and let me hear your thoughts! :)

Lily liked the ocean. She understood it.

Most people considered the waves crashing upon the shore to be a calming, meditative sort of environment. A gentle lull, fit to be the soundtrack to a midday picnic or a casual swim. Watching the ocean filled Lily with a very unique feeling, somewhere caught in the middle of exhilaration and dread. 

The shore was mesmerizing; the waves always crashing, receding, and building themselves up again, each time seeming no less significant than the last. She wasn’t sure whether she loved the crash of the water or hated it; regardless, it came each time, every wave inevitably falling to make way for the next.

It wasn’t hard to lose herself in the feeling, but it took her ages to place it.

_I’m boarding a train.___

_ __ _

It certainly didn’t feel like it; the moment was too powerful. She felt like she was on the edge of something much different, much more significant than the beginning of term. The image of her hands gripping the trolley in front of her was dizzying and would surely be burned into her mind forever.

There was an attack on central London exactly thirty-two days ago that seemed to be the last possible catastrophe the Ministry was capable of handling. It felt like the world was crumbling.

_We’re losing, _she’d think, but that didn’t feel entirely true. Perhaps there was an advantage, in the long term, of being the side that pieces everything back together again. She hoped.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

“It looks different.”

Hearing her own half-formed thoughts spoken aloud was startling, but she tried not to let it show. She’d been staring into space, entirely motionless for several minutes now.

James Potter had emerged from somewhere out of her line of sight; he made a habit of appearing that way, it seemed. He wasn’t looking at her, but at the commotion of the platform.

“Everything does,” she replied a little late.

He looked at her.

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Nice badge,” she nodded toward his chest; he was already in full uniform.

“Thanks,” he said, albeit uneasily, “I think Dumbledore may have finally lost his mind.”

A couple years ago, she might’ve been inclined to agree with him, but she’d long since realized that Hogwarts did not exist in a bubble. Lily understood perfectly why it had to be James; she’d bet her wand that deep down, he did too.

“Nah, he didn’t.”

He gave her a look of surprise, but said nothing.

“Shall we?” she nodded toward the train.

He finally smiled.

“No time like the present.”  


* * *

James was excited. He was always excited at the start of term, but this time surely felt different.

He had spent much of the summer ‘helping Sirius get settled into his new flat,’ or at least that was the excuse he gave his parents for being over there so often. It was hardly any different from how they spent the previous summer, except now the boys had two places to bounce back and forth between.

James couldn’t deny, however, no matter how hard he tried, that things were changing. Areas that were typically teeming with magical life settled into an uncomfortable, stiff rhythm, no one willing to be out of the safety of their homes for long. This change deeply unsettled James, hence his extra excitement for the new term. Hogwarts was a place where the rules made sense, even if James had a bad track record for following them.

His track record had apparently not stopped him from earning the head boy badge though, much to his surprise and his parents’ delight. His behavior had certainly improved in recent years, but really only to the degree of a manageable student; nothing that could have been considered exemplary. He didn’t understand it in the slightest.

Lily certainly didn’t seem surprised though. He wasn’t entirely sure what he had expected her reaction to be, but it wasn’t that. He was confused and admittedly a little warmed by the idea that probably for the first time, she had more confidence in his abilities than he did.

_Nah, he didn’t.___

_ __ _

_ __ _

Floating a little on account of Lily’s almost-compliment, James assessed that the prefect meeting had gone well enough. If he pretended he was comfortable with his new responsibilities, maybe one day he’d start to feel it. He hoped. 

“Alright there, Prongs?” Sirius asked, bringing James’ attention back to the present. 

“Yeah, just tired, mate.”

“I think we’re nearly there,” Peter announced, peering out the train window.

Catching up with his mates had been great. Sirius, of course, he hadn’t gone long without seeing, but Remus and Peter he’d only heard from by owl. He listened with rapt attention as they each recounted details of the summer.

“Do you suppose Hagrid will be there?” Remus asked as the train slowed to a stop. 

“Good question,” James replied. At the end of last term, Hagrid had disappeared, and the only answers Dumbledore or McGonagall had been willing to give them was that the groundskeeper had personal affairs to attend to. Naturally, it made the marauders suspicious.

“I still reckon he probably just found a long lost brother or something,” Sirius said as they filed out of the train.

“I can’t really imagine losing a brother his size.”

“No offence, but he’s not really the most _organized_ wizard I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t count it out so soon,” Sirius said, causing Peter to laugh loudly and Remus to send James a look.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

“There he is,” James said quickly. Sure enough, Hagrid was right where he could always be found at the start of term, calling the first years over to the boats. 

Peter shouted out to him, but Hagrid didn't turn, busy with the younger students. 

"We'll catch up with him later, yeah? After the feast," James said. Something about his appearance didn't sit well with him. Nothing was glaringly different, but the half-giant definitely looked worn. Regardless, James saw it fit to wait to pester him for anything.

The feast was delicious, but rather uneventful, all things considered. James generally tuned out the sorting and the well-intentioned warnings about the forest and other forbidden parts of the castle, but his attention was caught at the very end of Dumbledore's speech.

"This brings me to my final point. As I'm sure most of you are aware, Lord Voldemort's terror has begun to extend far past what the Ministry of Magic had anticipated or prepared for."

The already quiet hall stilled with tension. Dumbledore carried on calmly, his tone almost imperceptibly different from his warnings about the Forbidden Forest.

"Many of you have suffered greatly at the hands of Lord Voldemort and his followers. I do not believe I bare the responsibility of impressing upon you the risks we face in a world where he is at large; that, unfortunately, is quite evident," he paused, "however, I will not be so naive as to believe that his message is not alluring to some of you."

There were a few quiet gasps; several people near James cast quick glances across the hall.

"All I ask of you is one thing: if you find yourself staring down the path of least resistance, don't feel ashamed to turn around."

James shared a curious look with the other three boys, but Dumbledore was already dismissing them for the evening. In an instant, the hall was loud with commotion again. Lily caught his eye from several seats down and gestured to the doors. He quickly made to follow her.

"I think we're supposed to oversee the traffic," she said.

"Right, okay."

They positioned themselves on either side of the corridor beyond the Great Hall, calling out instructions to a few lost looking students.

“This way,” James said, pointing a first year to the direction the rest of his new house was headed.

“On your left!” he heard Lily call out.

“Mr. Hayes, that is _not_ the way to your dormitory and you know it!" he heard McGonagall shout, causing a sheepish third year to dart in the opposite direction.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

James saw Remus and two other Gryffindor prefects leading the rest of their house to the tower.

“You coming?” Sirius called out to him from a few steps away, standing with Peter.

“I've got patrols first,” James gestured behind him; Sirius’ face fell slightly.

“Right, forgot. Don't be out too late!" Sirius said, wagging his finger at him.

"Wouldn't dream of it," James winked.

Several long minutes later, the crowd finally dispersed, leaving only a handful of straggling students. James made his way back over to Lily.

“That was… intense,” James said.

“It was. I think we handled it well though."

"Good," he paused, "so, we do patrols now?"

She nodded. "Just the first few floors, I think. To make sure no one took any detours on their way."

"Perfect," James said.

They walked mostly in silence, stopping every few moments to check behind closed doors and shadowy corners.

“Did you have a nice summer?” Lily asked after a while.

“It was… as nice as it could be,” James settled on.

“Yeah, I suppose mine was the same.”

James nodded.

There were things about Lily he’d forgotten he knew: her inward gait, the way she smirked out of the blue sometimes, as if enraptured by a private joke. That intense, heady feeling he’d escaped for the past few months came rushing back to him with renewed clarity. He wasn’t used to being at a loss for words, but desperately felt like filling the silence.

“What’s your favorite color?” he blurted.

If she was thrown by the question, she didn’t let it show.

“Yellow. What’s yours?”

“Green.”

She smiled.

“Why green?”

“I like all the different shades of it in the forest,” he told her; a half truth. “Why is yours yellow?”

“Goldenrod. My favorite flower.”

He smiled widely. “There’s a joke in there, somewhere.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, I know; very funny. _‘What about lilies?’_” she mocked.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

He laughed easily. “I’m sure that just gets funnier for you each time.”

“Oh, absolutely.”

She was grinning. It took him a moment to realize that they’d stopped walking; they were already in front of the portrait hole.

“Ashwinder,” Lily told the Fat Lady.

“Welcome back,” she replied.

They climbed through to a mostly empty common room; James had no doubt, however, that his mates were waiting impatiently for him to return to their dormitory.

“Well, I guess this is goodnight,” he said, running a hand through his hair.

She smiled.

“Goodnight, James.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment, tell me what you think!


End file.
